Italy
The death of 22-year-old Giulia Cecchettin, allegedly at the hands of an ex-boyfriend, highlights violence against women
Anger and outrage have erupted across Italy following the murder of a university student, allegedly at the hands of her ex-boyfriend. This highlights violence against women in a country where on average one woman is killed every three days.
The body of 22-year-old engineering student Giulia Cecchettin was found in a ditch near a lake north of Venice days before her graduation ceremony. She had been wrapped in plastic and reportedly stabbed multiple times.
The discovery came after a week-long search that covered the country. Before her disappearance, street cameras were said to have filmed her former partner, Filippo Turetta, beating her.
On Wednesday, a court in eastern Germany, where 21-year-old Turetta was arrested after his car broke down, said it had approved his extradition to Italy.
According to Italian media, Turetta landed at Venice airport on Saturday morning and was to be transferred to a prison in the northern city of Verona to face investigation.
Spurred by reports from Cecchettin’s friends and family about Turetta’s alleged refusal to accept Cecchettin’s decision to end the relationship, the case shocked many across the country.
Protesters are expected to gather across Italy on Saturday – also on the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women – to commemorate Cecchettin’s murder, adding to the numerous rallies and vigils already held in recent days in her honor commemorative events were held.
“This is a script that we know very well,” said Cristina Gamberi, a research fellow at the University of Bologna, pointing to the 106 women killed in Italy so far this year, most of them by their partners or former partners Partner.
“But something is different with Giulia,” said Gamberi. “And what I think is different is her sister Elena.”
Cecchettin’s older sister Elena responded to favorable portrayals of Turetta in the media by blaming him rather than acting in a controlling and possessive manner. Turetta’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.
“She fights back with great determination and anger,” Gamberi said. “And I think it gives voice to a new collective consciousness that is really widespread among the younger generation.”
“Life should mean life”: Italian activists call for stricter femicide laws
Through social media and interviews, Elena Cecchettin has linked her sister’s murder to the normalization of toxic male behavior and characterized those who commit femicide as “children” of patriarchy and rape culture.
She urged men to alert their friends and colleagues at the first signs of sexual violence, whether whistles or controlling behavior from their partners. “No man is good if he does nothing to destroy the society that so privileges him,” she wrote in the newspaper Corriere della Sera this week.
She also appeared to push back against the government’s demand that schools hold a minute’s silence for her sister, instead calling for comprehensive sexual and emotional education and funding for anti-violence centers.
“Don’t hold a moment of silence for Giulia because Giulia burns everything,” she wrote. “Femicide is state murder because the state does not protect us. Femicide is not a crime of passion, it is a crime of power.”
In a report published in 2021 by the European Institute for Gender Equality, based on 2018 data, Italy ranks ninth out of 15 EU countries in the number of murders of women by partners or former partners and in femicides committed by relatives Tenth place.
The discovery of Cecchettin’s body also prompted a statement from Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose party was among those who abstained earlier this year when the EU voted to ratify a landmark international treaty to prevent violence against women. “We have all been hoping for the last few days that Giulia was alive. Unfortunately, our greatest fears have come true,” Meloni wrote on social media.
“Every single woman killed because she is ‘guilty’ of being free is an aberration that cannot be tolerated and that urges me to continue on the path taken to end this barbarism,” added Meloni, who became the country’s first female prime minister last year.
On Wednesday, Italian lawmakers unanimously endorsed a series of measures to expand protections for vulnerable women. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara also announced a campaign in schools to combat gender-based violence.
“It is absolutely unacceptable that women have to endure harassment, humiliation and violence every day,” Valditara told reporters.
Instead of involving feminist associations and anti-violence centers, the project will be coordinated by a psychologist who previously denied the existence of gender-based violence, said Silvia Menecali, a member of DiRe, the “Women Against Violence” network.
It was “really shocking,” she said. The appointment signaled the comprehensive overhaul needed to address the many facets of the problem in Italy. From the widespread belief among many law enforcement agencies and the judiciary that survivors of violence are somehow to blame or cannot be believed, to the way the media treats the perpetrators of that violence.
“In Italy we must put an end to journalism that still emphasizes the murderer’s point of view and explains what motivated him to kill a woman,” Menecali said. “This type of narrative continues to legitimize femicide as a response to a woman’s behavior.”
• In the UK, call the national domestic violence helpline on 0808 2000 247 or visit Women’s Aid. In the US, the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). In Australia, the National Family Violence Helpline can be reached on 1800 737 732. You can find further international advice centers at www.befrienders.org.
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